THE MODERN DESTRUCTOR.

BY

THE disposal of the rubbish of cities by burning was known and practised by the ancients, a fact which can be proved by many classical and Biblical quotations. During the Dark Ages, however, all systematic sanitary work fell into disuse, and the disposal of refuse was left to the individual, who easily solved the difficulty by depositing it in the public street.

When modern civilization brought with it the organization of public cleansing, in some countries the system was adopted of appointing a public contractor, who had a right to charge each householder for the removal of his rubbish ; in others the householders united to employ their own contractors; and in others, again, the municipality undertook the collection and disposal of rubbish either by employing a contractor or by using its own means of transport and employing direct labour.